09 Mar 2016 23:17:48
A very long post coming now, where I am going to address where I stand on the squad going into next season. I was of the belief we got very lucky winning the EPL last year, it wasn't so much our own individual merit, moreover the fact Arsenal and City both failed to put up any challenge and United, Liverpool, Spurs etc. were in transition. I didn't think the squad was strong enough, and clearly we have problems in several positions.
Secondly, I think we needed this reality check as fans. Too many times, I have seen our fans complaining, or moaning about this season and slating players left, right and centre. I am a relatively young Chelsea fan. I can't remember the really bad days, but I know we had them and don't want to be back there. On the other hand, we need to take this year on the chin and move on. We will be back, a year out of Europe might be hard, but as I suggest later, it can sometimes help in the long run. I don't want to discuss the start of the season or Jose, it is the past and we need to move on. We are where we are because we haven't been good enough in all honesty. I, and so many of us have been trying to look for stuff to blame- we all do it, we are all human. But we need to face facts. We haven't been good enough overall- I can think of five games off my head; Stoke away, Bournemouth home, Watford away, City away, Everton away, during which we never looked close to winning.
Having said that, I think Hiddink has done a good job steadying the ship, I hope we can kick on and do well in the FA Cup, maybe even win it. I am also very excited about the prospect of Conte considering what position we are in. In terms of his managerial style, he has been compared to Jose because he is very focused on tactics and organisation (as all Italian managers are) He took over Juventus after they had a similar poor season (they finished 7th I believe) and moulded them into being one of the hardest teams to beat in world football, while maintaining flair and quality throughout. He also gave youth a chance when it was merited, and this led to the rise of Paul Pogba- I am hoping RLC will follow suit. I'm now going to map out what I think might happen in each position and what I think should happen.
GK:
I think Thibaut has had a poor season. Having said that, he is still one of the best young GK's worldwide and unless we are getting offered stupid money i. e. £65m+ then he should stay. We need to mould our team spine once again and he should be a key part of it. Begovic is an odd one, I feel he is too good to be back-up and for the sake of his career he should move on- maybe he will replace Howard at Everton. Amelia I suspect will retire, maybe join the staff or move on. The third choice spot in my view can be given to a youngster.
RB/ LB:
Although he didn't have his best game tonight, I feel Dave is someone we must keep. He is class defensively and his attacking side of his game could really flourish under someone like Conte, he has done similar things with players like Lichtsteiner at Juve and also Darmian for the national side. Back-up wise, I feel we should now start to give Aina a chance in the EPL this season (we have nothing to play for) and as such we can do no worse. Hopefully he will knuckle down, sign a new contract and become our Bellerin. Todd Kane, who seems to have been around forever seems happy at NEC, and I suspect the move may become permanent. The same has to be said of Wallace, who seems to be back in Brazil and may stay there.
LB is a much more difficult thing. I feel Baba Rahman is a good player, but only offensively. Either Conte needs to perserve with training him defensively and see if it works, or move him further forward. I think he would make a perfect wide midfielder with his stamina and crossing ability, similar to Kwadwo Asamoah, another of Conte's Juventus favourites. I don't think Kenedy is a long-term option at LB, it is a real waste for him. My solution would be to use Nathan Ake there, he has had an excellent season at Watford and established himself as a very solid EPL defender, and under the coaching of someone like Terry would flourish. Having said that, Baba and Dave may both really suit Conte because of their ability to play wing-back.
CB
Firstly, I would say I expect Cahill to be moved on. He has been a solid player and has been a player I like, but I suspect Conte will prefer a more athletic CB, possibly someone younger- Marquinhos tonight played well for PSG and could certainly be an option in this role, plus he has proven his versatility. Given how highly he regarded him at Juventus, I would not be surprised to see a bid for Daniele Rugani as a partner for Zouma. I suspect Ivanovic will be kept for leadership and rotation options, similar to Barzaghli. I would also like to see us keep Christensen and offer him a run in the team to see if he can cement a place under Conte. I would also not be surprised to see our formation change to a three CB system, at least for a short while. Djilibodji will move on as I suspect will Kalas and Omeruo. I suspect Terry will move on, sad as it is. We have to progress forward however, and he can't go on forever as much as we'd like it. Miazga I expect to go on loan, maybe we can give him to BMG to apologise for taking Christensen back early? I would also like to start to blood Clarke-Salter into the team as well, he is a very talented athletic young CB and certainly deserves a chance.
DM/ CM
I will start off by saying I think Napoli will end up signing Chalobah as even though they don't play him much, they apparently rate him highly and he seems happy- we may regret this decision. Hector will probably go on loan, but I can't really see a long term future to be honest. Nemanja Matic. I have no idea what to do. Last season, he looked the best player we had in that position since the days of Makalele, this season he has looked more like the Serbian Fellaini. I think he might end up leaving in the summer, but I hope not, I think with the right guidance and coaching he can succeed a lot. I also think we should consider using his engine to more use as battering ram box-to-box midfielder. Diawara for me has a lot of potential and is a must-signing. Mikel is an okay squad player, but given both Pasalic and Baker are having excellent loan seasons and do the role as well as Mikel already, I would like to see one or perhaps both given a chance to stake their claim in pre-season. As I have already suggested, if we move to the 3-5-2 system that Conte has used then a pure DM will be negligible, I think it would be better to suggest we'd have a deeper-lying playmaker.
And that brings me to my next comment. I feel Fabregas would be excellent in the deeper-lying role, dictating play from deep with two more mobile CMs (like Matic and RLC) just in front of him. We all know Cesc has the best passing range in the squad, possibly in the top five in the league and when he plays well, we tend to do well. I think Cesc could do this 'Pirlo' role well, especially if we had two players in front of him making runs and creating space. Although he is gone now, I think Ramires would have thrived in this role, but I am hopeful that RLC will be given a chance as I think he could certainly be effective in it as could MvG- he is having an excellent loan in Holland once again and I feel he deserves a chance if he keeps playing this way. One name that keeps cropping up in this position is Miralem Pjanic, and I am a big fan of his in regards to the fact he scores goals and creates while also having a steely edge to his game. He is also a set-piece specialist. Doesn't this sound familiar? It should because he is basically Cesc 2.0. And I don't think we quite need that, I would rather we go after a true box-to-box option like Naingollan who I think would suit the system better alongside MVG/ Matic/ RLC and he could also drop into the deeper role to allow Cesc to move forward at times- the dream of Pogba will not happen. I should also add I expect Swift to move on for good of his career and also that Angban will probably get loaned again.
LM/ LW/ LAM/ CAM
For me, the only definite in these positions next year should be Kenedy. He has the drive, hunger and skill to drive through and attack, as well as cross the ball. I am a very big fan and hope he will feature more in advanced roles. The main priority I would say this summer would be to sell Eden Hazard, who clearly is suffering a crisis of confidence and no longer wants to be here- his value will quickly start decreasing and we need to sell now at maximum and move on; I think £60m would be excellent business. I have already suggested moving Baba forward to this role and I do wish to note, in games against tougher opposition I would be starting wing-backs, against lesser opposition I would start wide midfielders/ wingers.
In terms of pure wingers/ wing forwards, if he became available, I would really push for James in this role, he has previously stated he'd be interested in joining us and would be a true world class wide option, plus he could move more centrally. For a more technical option, Brahimi would also be nice. Loanee wise, I sadly think Piazon's chance has gone now as has Atsu. Musonda on the other hand should be considered for a rotation option in this role once his loan is over, as he looks top quality. The same should be noted of Issiah Brown, perhaps in a season's time once he has some more experience as they both would offer different options in these roles. Jeremie Boga is undoubtedly frustrated at his loan experience and I would like to see us either give him a chance to show what he can do, or give him a loan spell where he will get first-team football as Rennes rotation policy has been seriously unhelpful.
RM/ RW/ RAM/ CAM
Willian will be first choice in this role and despite being poor recently, his season overall has been good and I expect he will really buy into the Conte work ethic. Player that might be rescued by Conte could be Cuadrado, who he was a big fan of when he managed Juventus and may be the man to get the real Cuadrado to turn up for us and also Moses, because he has had a solid EPL season and might offer something different. Nathan will go on loan again, but he has struggled with injuries this season and form. I also think Pedro will leave as well, something tells me he will be one of the main exits this summer. Maybe Pep will take him to City!
I would like to see us look to bring in a direct pacey wide-man who can deliver a good cross and cut inside to score, Patrick Hermann at BMG I think would be a good option (the pipe dream aka not going to happen would be Douglas Costa) . Marko Marin, who is out of contract will finally disappear, as he has for about three seasons. I'd love Antoine Griezmann, but I don't think it will happen, I think he will end up at either Barcelona or PSG. Might be an odd one also, but I would like to see a bid for the Ox at Arsenal, if he could stay fit for one season then he would really flourish and he is a true direct player. As one for the future, I think Ousmame Dembele is a must in that aspect, he looks like he could be the French Robben.
Striker
Unless he is desperate to go back to Spain (Atletico), we must keep Costa. He is truly world-class, our best striker since Drogba and really can lead the line well. Plus if he is focused and fit, he is clinical. Selling him for less than £50m would be poor business in my view. Remy needs to move on, he had a good year last year but has been underused and needs first team football. Traore should continue to get match minutes and be our rotation choice definitely, he really has a lot of potential. I would like Solanke to get a Championship or even EPL loan next season, Abraham should get a lower championship loan. Perica will probably be sold, along with Bamford, both deals may have buy-back clauses. I would like to see us sign a more mobile, technical striker who can play in behind Costa and feed the ball through to him, but I have no idea who could fulfil this role.
If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to say and any feedback is appreciated. Lastly, congratulations if you read to the end of this post!
10 Mar 2016 08:22:44
CFCFOREVER: Although I do not always agree with your comments and i am sure you with mine, I think you have done an excellent assessment through your eyes and this is what makes an excellent banter topic. Many will completely disagree others a variation on your comments. I do not think we will move Terry on and last night was a reason why we will miss him as his game time diminishes, nobody organises our defence like he does. We were all over the place last night. I said at the start of the season we stole the EPL and our second half of the season was, I think, an indicator of what was to come. I also said the same about Hazard and it being his last season but was shot to ribbons and I am certain Costa has always wanted to go back to Spain and I am sure we will not keep him. Replacements will always be a personal choice but thta was an excellent overview.
10 Mar 2016 09:26:20
my issues with the current team is i just think the team is played in a way that was great over the last decade but the group of current players need to play with the philosophy of okay if you score 4 we will score 5 my opinion is we should be playing with attacking being the main focus, in the past defending and nicking a goal work but the deference just isn't what it was. terry should be looking to a coaching role we miss a player like lampard because we seem to want to pass it into the net this is why traore is a breath of fresh air he isn't afraid to just have a go. i believe oscar is a player we do not need he is good but he doesn't fit in to the way we should be set up just my opinion i do rate him but we could get 50 mil there and put it towards sorting out our weak spots with the likes of traore, kennedy, rlc coming through do we need a 50 mil player on the bench these kids are proving they have the quality to cover remy, terry, oscar, out we need a top cb varane or laporte would be great a cm who is box to box pogba, imbula, kroos then a top striker i personally think laczette would be ideal having lukaku back would be great but won't happen dybla maybe lewandoski, muller? if hazard were to go i'd like see an effort made for bale.
10 Mar 2016 09:43:01
A well thought out and presented account of the squad and I agree with most of it as well. I'm an older fan who does remember the tough times and followed Chelsea all over the country in the 80's and 90's and was at the cup final in 97 when we finally picked up the FA Cup for the first time since 1970. I said at the time to my mates that this is what it's all about and nothing will ever beat this day. That is probably how Leicester fans are thinking at the moment. Of course, since then we have moved on and expectations have changed. Fans including myself do expect us to win things every season and we are now at a crossroads as a club. Do we want to compete at the very highest level again because if we do we need to spend significant amounts of money to rebuild the squad while also integrating the elite youth players like Ake and Musunda. The summer window will show us the clubs intentions.
10 Mar 2016 10:17:30
Great post from CFC, although I do not agree with absolutely everything that you've wrote. But that is irrelevant since everyone is entitled to his own opinion.
Once again great post.
10 Mar 2016 10:40:26
Great post CFC. One thing that stood out last night is how lightweight we become without Costa, we are left with Oscar, Traore, Hazard, Pedro, Willian and Fabregas, none of these players are physical enough but can be skillful. We were never going to score after Costa left the pitch especially against a strong centre half in Thiago Silva. So for me we need to add some power to this team.
10 Mar 2016 11:20:58
Good post CFC. I agree with a lot of it. We need a combination of athletic power and technical ability in our midfield. The days where we used to boss games physically are gone, and as you've said, we're very lightweight going forward if Costa isn't playing!
10 Mar 2016 12:37:56
Thanks for the feedback all.
10 Mar 2016 13:40:23
CFCFOREVER: HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD MATE. Brilliant. It's strange because us fans see what we need, yet the management don't!
But well said mate. Very well said.